ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture (Environmental Damage)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on damage caused to the environment by animal agriculture.

Elliot Morley: The information is as follows.
	(a) Defra has commissioned a wide range of studies on this topic. These programmes and their associated studies have been addressed by "pollutant" (eg greenhouse gas, ammonia, nitrate, phosphorus) rather than by farming sector (eg animal, arable). Full details of the numerous studies, both on-going and those completed in and after 1999, can be found on http://www2.defra.gov.uk/research/project   data/subject.asp?SCOPE=0. Most of this extensive research is listed under the policy areas "Environmental Protection (Agriculture)" and "Farmland Conservation". Some of the output of this research is summarised in National Inventories for Greenhouse Gases and Ammonia.
	(b) Defra R&D programmes are subjected to periodic review (usually triennial). In addition, individual studies are subject to an expanding programme of peer review. An economic evaluation of the nitrate R&D programme was published in 2002 and can be found at http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/evaluation/nitrate/default.asp.

Amazon Basin

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the globalised beef market on deforestation in the Amazon basin.

Elliot Morley: The international beef export market is expanding and Brazilian production is rising to meet demand. The vast majority of Brazil's export trade is currently with countries outside the European Community.
	We have not undertaken our own assessment of the impact of the globalised beef market on deforestation in the Amazon Basin, but we are aware of work undertaken and published on 2 April 2004 by CIFOR (Centre for International Forestry Research), which suggests that Brazil's beef production contributes to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
	The Government takes sustainable forest management seriously and is playing a leading role in international negotiations on forests in a number of fora, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), Forest Law Enforcement and Governance processes and the G8.
	The Government is committed to tackling illegal logging. Under EU law, a ban on the import of illegally logged timber can be imposed only at EU level. We are therefore showing leadership within the European Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process. The FLEGT action plan includes the proposal to negotiate voluntary partnership agreements with timber producing countries. These agreements would be underpinned by a new EU import Regulation that would deny access to EU markets for illegally harvested timber from those countries.

BACS

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made to manage the changeover from the Bank Automated Clearing System to the new BACSTEL-IP system for electronic payments.

Alun Michael: Defra has been in discussion with our Bank Automated Clearing System (BACS) software provider and we have also been in communication with our sponsoring bank for BACS payments (The Bank of England). Defra will be migrating to BACSTEL-IP in accordance with the timetable issued by BACS Ltd. and guidance from The Office of the Paymaster General.

BSE/nvCJD

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the latest evidence on the links between BSE and new variant CJD.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	The research referred to is published in international scientific literature, not by the Government.
	The two latest published findings are Asante E. A. etal (2002)—the European Molecular Biology Organisation Journal, vol. 21, pp. 6358–6366 and proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA) vol. 98, pp 4142–4147. Copies of both have been placed in the Library.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the factors accounting for the trend in UK carbon dioxide emissions since 1996.

Alun Michael: UK emissions of CO 2 in 2003 were some seven million tonnes of carbon (MtC) lower than in 1996. Broadly speaking this can be accounted for by warmer temperatures in 2003 (-4MtC), greater economic output (+29MtC), lower energy consumption per unit of economic output (-26 MtC), and lower average carbon content of fuels per unit of energy consumption (-6 MtC). The figures in brackets indicate approximately the contribution of each effect, positive and negative signs indicating respectively a contribution to higher or lower emissions.

Chardon LL Fodder Maize

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will withdraw her request to the French competent authority for a variation in the conditions attached to the Part C consent for Chardon LL fodder maize.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 21 April 2004
	No. The consent issued by the French Authorities applies to all types of maize genetically modified with the event known as T25, not just to specific varieties, such as Chardon LL.

Climate Change

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate the Government has made of the annual costs   to the insurance industry resulting from climate change.

Elliot Morley: According to the Association of British Insurers storm and flood insurance losses in the UK over the past five years have totalled £5 billion, twice that of previous years. At present, it is not possible scientifically, to attribute such changes and the associated weather events to climate change absolutely. However, what is clear is that the extreme weather events experienced in the UK over recent years (for example, the floods in 2000 and the hot summer in 2003) are typical of what is likely to be experienced with even greater frequency as a result of man-made climate change.

Environment Agency

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to review the Environment Agency's pollution incident recording system.

Elliot Morley: I have no plans to review the Environment Agency's National Incident Recording System (NIRS).
	The Agency carries out an ongoing review of the effectiveness of the system and liaises with the user community, making changes where appropriate.
	Over the next five years, the Agency will be looking to   move towards one fully integrated web-based tracking system to encompass incident reporting and enforcement.

Environmental Problems (Costs)

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Treasury on the cost to the economy of environmental problems.

Elliot Morley: Officials and Ministers from Defra and the Treasury frequently discuss the cost to the economy of environmental problems and how best this can be mitigated. To inform these discussions and policy development more generally Defra undertakes analysis of the economic costs and benefits of policies to protect the environment, including a continuous programme of impact assessments and an annual national survey of environmental expenditure by businesses.
	Recent examples of such discussions include the development of proposals for returning the revenue from the new landfill tax escalator to business and consideration of the scope for cost savings through more sustainable patterns of consumption and production.

GM Crops

Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 March, Official Report, column 435W, on GM crops, whether the investigations were conducted by the Robert Koch Institute on behalf of the Syngenta Corporation.

Elliot Morley: The German Government has appointed the Robert Koch Institute as its competent authority under Directive 2001/18. The Institute's investigation was undertaken as the competent authority with the full co-operation of Syngenta, who hold the consent for marketing of Bt176 maize.

Sustainable Development

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is   taking to deliver sustainable development within Government.

Elliot Morley: Sustainable development is the responsibility of all Government Departments, but one for which Defra takes the lead. Defra actively promotes sustainable development across Whitehall in many ways in line with the Department's primary Public Service Agreement. Current initiatives include:
	Annual reporting on the Government's progress towards sustainable development in the UK since the launch of the 1999 strategy for sustainable development. The 2003 "Achieving a   better quality of life" report updates progress on the UK   Government's 15 headline indicators of sustainable development and gives an overview of the main strategic developments and actions.
	Drawing up new UK sustainable development strategy, including a strategic framework covering both domestic and international dimensions, co-owned and agreed by the devolved Administrations and the UK Government. The consultation was launched on 21 April.
	Development of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. This is the main vehicle for improving the way in which Government Departments manage their business operations.
	Ensuring that domestic and international sustainable development is an important consideration in HM Treasury's Spending Review 2004.
	Pursuing, along with other Government Departments, implementation of the commitments stemming from the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Sustainable Development

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on her Department's Sustainable Development Strategy.

Elliot Morley: Progress towards meeting the targets listed in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate is detailed in the Sustainable Development in Government report published in November 2003.
	Sustainable development, as the Department's overarching aim, also underpins Defra's work, which is reported in the departmental annual reports.
	A review of progress on Defra's SD strategy, "Foundations for our Future", will be published later in the year. We also published a five-year review of progress on the UK Government strategy, "Achieving a better quality of life", on 16 March 2004, together with updates on the headline indicators. Defra, together with the devolved Administrations and other Government Departments, will be launching a consultation on a future UK strategy, including both domestic and international dimensions, later this month.

Hazardous Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1621W, on hazardous waste, if she will make a statement on the (a) detection and (b) prosecution rates she expects the Environment Agency to achieve.

Elliot Morley: It is not possible to predict detection and prosecution rates for hazardous waste. However, Environment Agency data for prosecutions brought relating to illegal waste activity as a whole is available for the years 1999–2003 as follows:
	
		
			 Year (financial) Number of prosecutions 
		
		
			 1999–2000 366 
			 2000–01 446 
			 2001–02 484 
			 2002–03 511 
		
	
	The Environment Agency takes enforcement action against incidents and breaches of permit conditions in   accordance with its enforcement and prosecution policies.

Press Officers

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers were employed in her Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04; what the total cost was in each year; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Defra was not set up until June 2001. Figures relating to numbers of press officers employed by the organisations whose functions were subsumed into the new department would not correspond accurately to the distribution and scope of the present work areas.
	The number of press officers employed at Defra has been as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 June 2001 22 
			 June 2002 22 
			 June 2003 22 
			 As at 18 March 2004 19

Public Bodies

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the budget for administration was for each non-departmental public body for which she is responsible that are in the following categories (a) public corporation, (b) executive, (c) advisory and (d) tribunal non-departmental public bodies in financial year 2002–03.

Alun Michael: Details of the administration costs of executive, tribunal and advisory NDPBs and public corporations are as follows:
	Executive NDPBs and Public Corporations
	Both management accounting practices and the definition of administration costs differ from organisation to organisation. Therefore comparisons between NDPBs may not be appropriate.
	Advisory and Tribunal NDPBs
	Administration costs for advisory and tribunal NDPBs include the costs of board members (fees and expenses) and any associated direct costs of running the NDPB. It does not include the costs of the secretariats within Defra.
	
		Administration costs of executive, advisory and tribunal NDPBs and public corporations -- £
		
			  Administration costs 
		
		
			 Executive NDPBs  
			 Agricultural Wages Board 129,902 
			 Agricultural Wages Committee 12,547 
			 British Potato Council 1,758,718 
			 Countryside Agency 17,500,000 
			 Environment Agency 113,000,000 
			 English Nature 10,581,000 
			 Food From Britain 2,059,105 
			 Horticultural Development Council 257,366 
			 Home Grown Cereals Authority (1)596,000 
			 Horticultural Research International 1,667,000 
			 Joint Nature Conservation Committee 1,344,000 
			 Royal Botanical Gardens—Kew 2,281,000 
			 Milk Development Council 1,035,939 
			 Meat and Livestock Commission 2,200,000 
			 National Forest Company 1,006,233 
			 Seafish Industry Authority 1,820,000 
			 Wine Standards Board 254,675 
			   
			 Public corporations  
			 British Waterways 28,500,000 
			 Covent Garden Market Authority 1,648,467 
			   
			 Advisory NDPBs  
			 Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment 5,000 
			 Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the   Environment 5,573 
			 Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances 16,114 
			 Advisory Committee on Packaging (2)— 
			 Advisory Committee on Pesticides 110,000 
			 Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment 35,000 
			 Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees 12,849 
			 Air Quality Expert Group 46,500 
			 Committee on Products and Processes for Use in Public   Water  
			 Supply 21,637 
			 Darwin Advisory Committee (The Darwin Initiative) 2,750 
			 Expert Group on Cryptosporidium in Water Supplies 3,425 
			 Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards 3,460 
			 Farm Animal Welfare Council 109,000 
			 Government Industry Forum on Non-Food Uses of   Crops 14,040 
			 Independent Scientific Group on TB in Cattle 155,424 
			 Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council 190,000 
			 Integrated Administration and Control System Appeals   Panel 2,750 
			 Pesticides Residues Committee 28,500 
			 Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee 148,000 
			 Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 440,000 
			 Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Council 157,072 
			 Sustainable Development Commission 75,839 
			 Veterinary Products Committee 174,092 
			 Veterinary Residues Committee 17,575 
			 Zoos Forum 3,997 
			 Tribunal NDPBs  
			 Agricultural Land Tribunals 48,835 
			 Commons Commissioners 29,106 
			 Dairy Produce Quote Tribunal 0 
			 Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal (3)0 
		
	
	(1) Estimated figure to reflect the costs of internal administration.
	(2) No information.
	(3) There was no call on the services of the tribunal in 2002–03.

Radioactive Waste

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management will take evidence from the relevant bodies in (a) Sweden, (b) Finland and (c) the USA.

Elliot Morley: CoRWM is an independent Committee and will gather information from any organisations it considers relevant.

Rural Payments Agency

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many formal complaints were made against the Rural Payments Agency's Northallerton office in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Complaints against the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) are interpreted as complaints in respect of decisions made under the Common Agricultural Policy schemes which it administers. Such complaints are therefore recorded against scheme type and not on a site by site basis.
	The RPA could not extrapolate the data required to break this figure down to site level without incurring disproportionate costs.

Timber

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are being implemented by the Environment Agency to ensure that all timber used on the construction sites of new offices will come from legal and sustainable sources, and if she will list those sites.

Elliot Morley: The procurement by the Environment Agency of sustainably managed timber is reported publicly at quarterly Board meetings and in the Agency's Annual Environmental Report. Preliminary indications are that in 200304, all of the timber used was from a sustainably managed source.
	The Agency is currently having a new leasehold office built to its requirements at Wallingford, near Oxford.

Trees

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of trees (a) had full crowns, (b) had slight defoliation, (c) had moderate defoliation, (d) had severe defoliation and (e) were dead in the most recent survey of tree health in Europe under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution, broken down by country.

Elliot Morley: The results of the 2002 Large-scale Survey of Forest Condition in Europe is published by the UNECE and European Commission are shown in the table. The report did not separate the 'severe defoliation' and 'dead' categories.
	
		Defoliation of all species by classes and class aggregates (2002)
		
			 Participating Countries Area surveyed (1,000 ha) No. of sample trees 0 none 1 slight 2 moderate 3+4 severe and dead 2+3+4 
		
		
			 Albania 1,028   
			 Austria 3,481 7,029 60.2 29.6 8.5 1.7 10.2 
			 Belarus 7,845 9,690 34.9 55.6 8.2 1.3 9.5 
			 Belgium 691 3,079 38.7 43.5 16.1 1.7 17.8 
			 Bulgaria 3,314 5,303 24.1 38.8 29.9 7.2 37.1 
			 Croatia 1,175 1,910 38.4 41.0 18.6 2.0 20.6 
			 Cyprus 138 360 30.8 66.4 2.8 0.0 2.8 
			 Czech Republic 2,630 7,013 11.6 35.0 52.7 0.7 53.4 
			 Denmark 468 480 61.5 29.8 7.3 1.4 8.7 
			 Estonia 2,249 2,169 45.9 46.5 6.6 1.0 7.6 
			 Finland 15,006 8,593 54.6 33.9 10.5 1.0 11.5 
			 France 13,100 10,355 40.1 38.0 20.3 1.6 21.9 
			 Germany 10,264 13,534 35.1 43.5 20.0 1.4 21.4 
			 Greece(4) 2,512 1,768 42.1 37.0 16.6 4.3 20.9 
			 Hungary 1,804 26,921 38.1 40.7 16.0 5.2 21.2 
			 Ireland 399 424 43.9 35.4 16.0 4.7 20.7 
			 Italy 7,699 7,165 20.3 42.4 33.4 3.9 37.3 
			 Latvia 2,902 8,682 19.8 66.4 12.0 1.8 13.8 
			 Liechtenstein (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) 
			 Lithuania 1,858 5,162 16.4 70.8 9.6 3.2 12.8 
			 Luxembourg 84 (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) 
			 Rep. Of Moldova 318 11,489 25.2 32.3 32.6 9.9 42.5 
			 The Netherlands 210 231 57.1 21.2 20.4 1.3 21.7 
			 Norway 12,000 7,421 35.0 39.5 22.0 3.5 25.5 
			 Poland 6,868 24,580 8.8 58.5 30.7 2.0 32.7 
			 Portugal 3,233 4,350 47.8 42.6 8.9 0.7 9.6 
			 Romania 6,244 104,366 62.7 23.8 12.0 1.5 13.5 
			 Russian Federation(6) 6,315 4,144 37.9 51.2 10.2 0.7 10.9 
			 Serbia/Montenegro(7)  1,104 80.8 15.3 3.7 0.2 3.9 
			 Slovak Republic 1,961 4,207 17.3 57.9 23.3 1.5 24.8 
			 Slovenia 1,099 936 32.3 39.6 24.2 3.9 28.1 
			 Spain 11,588 14,880 24.2 59.4 13.2 3.2 16.4 
			 Sweden 20,600 16,671 49.2 35.0 13.4 2.4 15.8 
			 Switzerland 1,186 1,064 23.4 58.0 11.7 6.9 18.6 
			 Turkey (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) 
			 Ukraine 1,285 1,204 8.9 63.4 23.8 3.9 27.7 
			 United Kingdom 2,156 8,532 27.3 45.4 25.7 1.6 27.3 
		
	
	(4) Excluding Maquis.
	(5) No survey in 2002.
	(6) Only regional surveys in north-western and central European parts of Russia.
	(7) Montenegro only.

Waste

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on projects her Department supports which aim to produce road fuel from waste material.

Elliot Morley: The Department does not support financially any projects which aim to produce road fuel from waste material.

Waste

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the effect of new legislation on current methods of disposing of farm waste plastics.

Elliot Morley: Plastic packaging waste from farms is already subject to the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) which encourage the reuse of packaging where possible and require businesses to recover and recycle packaging waste to target levels.
	Waste from premises used for agriculture is currently excluded from national waste management controls by section 75(7)(c) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Draft regulations and an associated consultation document are being drafted for publication later in the spring and the consultation will include proposals for a producer responsibility scheme for increasing the collection and recycling of non-packaging agricultural waste plastic.
	Currently the majority of agricultural waste plastic is disposed of by burial in un-licensed farm tips or by unregulated open burning with consequential risks to the environment and human health. The proposed regulations will prohibit the on-farm disposal of agricultural waste without a waste management licence or a registered licence exemption. Waste agricultural plastic will have to be disposed of or recovered in appropriately licensed or registered sites in line with other sectors of industry.

TRANSPORT

Airport Capacity (South-East)

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether comprehensive simulation of the airspace management implications of possible runway development options for the south east of England was undertaken prior to the publication of the Aviation White Paper on 16 December 2003; and what plans (a) National Air Traffic Services and (b) the Civil Aviation Authority have to undertake such a simulation.

Alistair Darling: Pursuant to my answer of 19 April 2004, Official Report, column 307W, I referred to the level of airspace modelling work that the Department commissioned CAA-DAP and NATS to carry out as part of the SERAS Study in advance of the White Paper. The primary objective of this work was to simulate several airport development scenarios to assess whether the London airspace system could accommodate runway capacities of the order envisaged by the development options.
	However, now that the White Paper has been published, it is necessary to move from simulations to develop a comprehensive redesign of London's airspace. Paragraph 12.26 of the White Paper confirms that the Government looks to CAA to make early progress in bringing forward a structured programme for this work. The White Paper also makes it clear that CAA will need to involve NATS in working up its detailed proposals.

Refuelling Depots

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many liquefied petroleum gas refuelling depots there were in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many compressed natural gas refuelling depots there were in the UK in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The following table shows, for the UK, the number of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refuelling sites in the last five years and the number of publicly accessible compressed natural gas refuelling sites in the last three years.
	
		
			  Year Liquefied petroleum gas refuelling sites(8) Compressed antural gas refuelling sites(9) 
		
		
			 1999 285 N/a 
			 2000 610 N/a 
			 2001 1000 13 
			 2002 1200 14 
			 2003 1272 19 
		
	
	(8) Liquid Petroleum Gas Association
	(9) Natural Gas Vehicle Association
	The Government is committed to the uptake of alternatively fuelled vehicles. Government grants are provided for the purchase of both LPG and natural gas vehicles and the installation of refuelling infrastructure under the Powershift programme. Further Government support is provided for alternatively fuelled vehicles through reduced fuel duty for road fuel gases and reduced Vehicle Excise Duty. Alternatively fuelled vehicles may also be exempt from the London congestion charge.

Vehicle Use

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes there have been to the amount of vehicle kilometres travelled over the last five years within (a) the North Somerset local authority and (b) Weston-super-Mare.

David Jamieson: Traffic estimates for counties and unitary authorities have been published on my Department's web site. These show that there was an estimated 14 per cent. increase in vehicle kilometres in North Somerset between 1997 and 2002, the latest year for which figures are available. The corresponding information for district authorities, including Weston-super-Mare, is not available.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Renewable Energy

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money her Department has invested in renewable energy in Liverpool from 1997 to 2003.

Stephen Timms: In 2003 the Department awarded a capital grant of 10 million to Seascape Energy towards the costs of developing the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay.
	In 1999, Mersey Docks and Harbour Company were awarded a contract under the Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) arrangements for electricity to be generated from six 600 kW wind turbines in Seaforth Dock.
	A grant of 94,647 was awarded under the DTI's PV Domestic Field Trial to CDS Housing for a project at Pinehurst Estate, Liverpool.
	A grant of 11,759 was awarded to Cosmopolitan Housing Association under stream 1 of the DTI's Photovoltaic (PV) Major Demonstration Programme for a project in Liverpool.
	A grant of 1,250 was awarded to Liverpool county council under the DTI's Clear Skies scheme for a community project in Liverpool.
	Some initiatives relating to the North West region as a whole may result in benefits for Liverpool. In 200001, the DTI contributed 50,000 towards a study of the potential for renewable energy throughout the North West region. Between 200204, the DTI contributed 208,060 towards a regional renewable energy planning facilitation fund administered through the Government Office for the North West.

Renewable Energy

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to differentiate between offshore and onshore wind farms in the subsidy system for selling renewable obligation certificates.

Stephen Timms: None.

Renewable Energy

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effects of recent trends in investment in renewable energy upon residents of Burnley.

Stephen Timms: Recent trends in renewable energy investment have been highly encouraging. More new capacity has been constructed in the last few years than in the previous decade, and a significant amount is currently in the pipeline. This covers a wide range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and biomass.
	Whilst this investment has not translated into capacity within Burnley itself, there are wind farm developments, both constructed and proposed, in the surrounding area. There is the 9.6 MW 24 turbine development at Coal Clough, built in 1992. The application for the Hameldon Hill wind farm, a 3 turbine 5 MW development has recently been approved on appeal.

Overseas Trade

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will break down the UK's trade figures with (a) China and (b) Taiwan in the past 12 months into (i) imports and (ii) exports.

Mike O'Brien: Information on UK imports and exports of goods, from and to China and Taiwan, is given in the following table.
	
		 million(10)
		
			  China Taiwan 
			  UK imports UK exports UK imports UK exports 
		
		
			 2003 
			 February 601 150 185 68 
			 March 626 153 185 65 
			 April 657 191 175 87 
			 May 675 181 186 68 
			 June 684 157 176 65 
			 July 622 155 181 74 
			 August 723 165 187 68 
			 September 745 134 180 78 
			 October 749 180 182 82 
			 November 773 149 170 87 
			 December 794 193 175 82 
			 2004 
			 January 791 128 182 72 
		
	
	(10) Seasonally adjusted
	Source:
	Business Monitor MM24, Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics, ONS

Post Office (Closures)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the post offices which have been closed since 1997 in the Carshalton and Wallington constituency; and when each closed.

Stephen Timms: Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Office Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to make an announcement on the future of the rural post office network subsidy.

Stephen Timms: The Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report on the future of the post office network recommended that the Postal Services Commission should advise the Government on the main options for the policy framework after 2006. The Government is currently considering the advice and will take decisions on the shape of the rural post office network after 2006 in good time to allow for a smooth transition from the current support arrangements.

Post Office Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) rural and (b) urban post offices have (i) closed and (ii) been opened since 1997.

Stephen Timms: I understand from Post Office Ltd. that details of net post office closures in the United Kingdom, recorded by urban/rural classification are only available from March 2000 and are as follows:
	
		Post office closures
		
			  Urban Rural 
		
		
			 200001 106 441 
			 200102 68 194 
			 200203 (11)230 115 
		
	
	(11) Includes 102 closures under the urban network reinvention programme.
	Post Office Ltd. is yet to report a detailed breakdown of closures for the financial year 200304. The latest quarter for which information on post office closures is available (December 2003)reveals that net closures were as follows:
	
		200304to end of December 2003
		
			 Urban Rural 
		
		
			 (12)642 132 
		
	
	(12) Includes 592 closures under the urban network reinvention programme.

Post Office Network

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the number of rural post offices protected from closure by the rural network subsidy.

Stephen Timms: No such estimate has been carried out. All rural sub-post offices benefit from the Government's package of support which is used to maintain the 'Assigned Office Payments' to sub-postmasters and to fund the front-line services necessary for each and every post office to operatefor example IT and cash. Without Government support, large parts of the rural network would have faced closure.
	The funding ensures that, at least until 2006, Post Office Ltd. can maintain the rural network and prevent avoidable closures. Nevertheless, some closures are inevitable, for example where a sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress retires and no one can be found to take on the service. However, where a rural office closes permanently, alternative forms of providing the post office service in that area will be explored.

Royal Mail

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many claims for compensation were made and how much Royal Mail Group paid in compensation in each year since 1997 in respect of (a) first class, (b) second class, (c) special delivery next day, (d) special delivery 9.00 am, (e) recorded signed for and (f) standard parcels mail which was (i) delayed and (ii) severely delayed; and how many claims were made, and how much was paid in compensation, in each year since 1997 for (A) damage to valuable mail, (B) consequential loss and (C) delay to bulk mailings.

Stephen Timms: Compensation claims are an operational matter for Royal Mail Group and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Utility Companies

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints were received by Energywatch on switching energy suppliers in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: During 2003, 3.1 million domestic gas customers and 4.2 million domestic electricity customers changed their suppler. In that period, Energywatch received 22,437 complaints from domestic consumers about the transfer process, including complaints about both erroneous transfers and problems in switching supplier. The gas and electricity industry, with the involvement of the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) and Energywatch, and with the encouragement of DTI, is currently engaged in a three-stage programme to establish the causes of difficulties within the transfer process and identify and implement solutions.

Vessel Procurements

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State forTrade and Industry which sea-going vessel procurements she is considering; when she plans to issue invitations to tender; and whether the procurement will be limited to the UK for strategic reasons.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	The General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) are developing proposals for the procurement of two multi-function tenders and a rapid response vessel to replace three of the GLAs1 current tenders. It is too early to know when invitations to tender will be issued or how and when the build contract will be placed.

Wind Farms

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been provided in capital grants to (a) off-shore and (b) on-shore wind farms since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Since 1997, the Government have committed 117 million in grant support to early off-shore wind farm development. No direct grant support has been provided for on-shore wind farm development.

DEFENCE

Airfield Support Services Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on ensuring that the Airfield Support Services Project solution is compatible with the modernisation agenda for fire services.

Adam Ingram: There have been no formal discussions between the Ministry of Defence and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the compatibility of the Airfield Support Services Project (ASSP) with the modernisation agenda for the Fire and Rescue Service.
	The ASSP will be sufficiently flexible to adapt to any changes that might be brought about as a result of the modernisation programme.

Funding

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) resource and (b) capital expenditure was vired from RfR1 to RfR2 in the most recent financial year for which figures are available, in (i) cash and (ii) resource terms.

Adam Ingram: Outturn for 200304 is not yet available. No funds were vired from RfRl to RfR2 during 200203.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the amounts of reparations that have been paid to Iraqis.

Adam Ingram: Reparations are the compensation extracted as an indemnity from a defeated nation by the victors. Neither Iraq nor the United Kingdom has sought or paid reparations to the other.

Land Mines (Cress)

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has evaluated on genetically modified cress that changes colour when it comes into contact with landmine explosives.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is not currently involved in any research into mine detection using genetically modified cress.
	A Danish company, Aresa Biotechnology, has developed a genetically modified cress plant that changes colour in response to nitrogen dioxide, which is sometimes a by-product of degrading explosives, in soil. The colour change has the potential to indicate the presence of mines, although not in all cases.
	The MOD continues to monitor the progress of this research as it develops.

TREASURY

Child Tax Credit

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Burnley have received child tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Burton (Mrs. Dean) on 15 March 2004, Official Report, column 98W.

Gift Aid

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2004, Official Report, columns 135051W, on Gift Aid, how many responses his Department received to the original consultation that followed the pre-Budget report;
	(2)  whether an assessment was made of the additional income that would be raised from the proposed changes to Gift Aid rules on day memberships, based on the responses received from charities in the original consultation that followed the pre-Budget report.

John Healey: Inland Revenue received 57 responses during the original consultation period. These came from charities, representative bodies and associations and other interested parties.
	Tax reclaimed on so called day memberships using the Gift Aid scheme is not differentiated from tax reclaimed on other Gift Aid donations, so it is not possible to estimate the saving to the Exchequer of ending Gift Aid on admission charges. Information supplied during the original consultation would not enable an assessment to be made. However, the purpose of this measure is not revenue-raising, but is about maintaining the principles of Gift Aid as a scheme designed to encourage donations to charity.

Income Tax (Manchester)

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Manchester Gorton qualified for the 10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: Reliable information is not available. The sample size of pensioners living in the Manchester Gorton constituency is relatively small compared to other constituencies in the Survey of Personal Incomes.

IT Equipment (Tax Exemption)

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Burnley have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available.

Self-Assessment

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department issues to individuals who make a mistake when completing an on-line self assessment tax return because of misunderstanding whether the form P60 refers to gross or net income.

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue provides no specific guidance to individuals who make a mistake when completing an on-line self assessment tax return because of misunderstanding whether the form P60 refers to gross or net income but online help is available when completing the boxes relevant to information on P60.

Self-Assessment

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints he has received over problems with the operation of the on-line self assessment tax return form.

Dawn Primarolo: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has received four complaints in connection with the operation of the on-line self assessment tax return form since 6 April 2003.

Self-Assessment

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has carried out of the amount of tax due in respect of taxpayers who have failed to return self-assessment forms over the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to calculate an accurate figure of the amount of tax due in respect of taxpayers who have failed to return self-assessment forms. The Inland Revenue have launched a three-year initiative to recover outstanding tax returns and any associated tax due from taxpayers who have failed to file, concentrating on cases where, on past history, there appears likely to be tax due.

Senior Citizens (Burnley)

Peter Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many senior citizens in Burnley qualified for the   10p rate of income tax in each year since its introduction.

Dawn Primarolo: All income taxpayers benefit from the 10p starting rate. The Survey of Personal Incomes estimates there are about 4,000 and 5,000 state retirement pension age taxpayers in the Burnley constituency in 200001 and 200102 respectively. Figures for 19992000 are currently not available.

Tax Exemptions (Manchester)

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Manchester Gorton have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment.

Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.

Tax Returns

Adrian Flook: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax returns have been issued to trustees of pension schemes who carry no tax liability or refund in each tax year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: This information is not available.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Antisocial Behaviour

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many injunctions for antisocial behaviour from tenants have been requested by Merseyside's local authorities in the past 12 months.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not request that local authorities supply information on the number of injunctions they seek relating to the antisocial behaviour of tenants.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the buildings occupied by his staff, including agencies, which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Yvette Cooper: Asbestos surveys undertaken in accordance with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 have revealed that the following buildings occupied staff of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, including agencies, contain asbestos-based materials:
	Ashdown House, Victoria Street, Westminster.
	Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.
	Government Office for London, Riverwalk House, Westminster.
	Government Office for the North EastWellbar House, Newcastle.
	The Budget allocated for asbestos removal and remedial action is:
	200405800,000
	2005060
	The budget figure of 800,000 in 200405 is for asbestos removal from Riverwalk House. Although the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for this building, the Government Offices carry out functions on behalf of 10 Departments.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not allocated specific funds for future asbestos surveys; these will be funded from existing maintenance budgets.

Computer Services

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to update computer (a) hardware and(b) software standard packages used in his Department.

Yvette Cooper: Plans to update computer hardware and software packages used by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are covered by our Corporate Information and Communications Technology Strategy and underpinned by Service level Agreements with our IT suppliers.
	Over the next year we will be upgrading our corporate desktop software from Microsoft NT to Microsoft XP. Our computer hardware is upgraded as part of a rolling equipment upgrade and replacement programme for obsolete equipment.

Development Planning

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out a timetable for the revision ofplanning guidance notes into planning policy statements; what his policy is on reallocation of land zoned for employment, industrial and commercial development into residential land; and what action he is taking to ensure that each authority provides sufficient affordable housing.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to make an announcement shortly on the timetable for the revision of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPG) into Planning Policy Statements (PPS).
	In July 2003, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published the consultation document 'Supporting the delivery of new housing'. This proposed to add new policy to PPG3: Housing requiring local planning authorities to consider favourably applications for housing development on allocated unneeded industrial and employment sites unless it can be demonstrated that the site is still needed for that purpose or that it would undermine the planning for housing strategy. This would complement paragraph 42 of PPG3 which expects local authorities, when revising their plans, to review all their non-housing allocations, including those for employment, and consider whether some of this land might better be used for housing or mixed use developments.
	The consultation closed on 31 October 2003. Our aim is to publish the final policy in the summer, alongside practice guidance to help local planning authorities in reviewing employment land allocations.
	The Sustainable Communities Plan (published on 5 February 2003) set out a comprehensive programme of action to increase the provision of affordable housing, including a large increase in expenditure. 3.3 billion is   being provided for the Housing Corporation's programme over the next two years (200406). This will provide funding for 67,000 new affordable homes for both rent and low cost home ownership.
	Also in July 2003, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published the consultation document 'Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing'. It proposed that local planning authorities should address the housing requirements of the whole community by ensuring a better match between a community's housing needs and supply, and that all local planning authorities must have policies on affordable housing to help deliver affordable housing where it is needed. We aim to publish the final update in the autumn, alongside practice guidance.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 16 December, 2003, Official Report, column 856W, on the mechanism for monitoring local planning authority performance and the actions that could be taken where their policies are not having the desired effect.

Homelessness

Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2004, Official Report, columns 14401W, on homelessness, if he will introduce best value performance indicators on (a) homelessness prevention and (b) tenancy sustainment.

Yvette Cooper: A review of the Best Value Performance Indicators is currently being taken forward in order to ensure that they reflect the key national and local priorities, and accurately inform Comprehensive Performance Assessment ratings. As part of that review, we are considering whether there is a need for extra homelessness related performance indicators in addition to those which are already in place.

Housing Corporation

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the actual expenditure of the Housing Corporation was over the last 10 years; and what its budget is for the next three years.

Keith Hill: The expenditure by the Housing Corporation over each of the past 10 years is tabled as follows, together with the indicative budget for 200405 and 200506. The figures do not include spending on the Housing Corporation's administration.
	
		Housing Corporation Expenditure
		
			  Total ( million) 
		
		
			 199394 2,297.80 
			 199495 2,038.40 
			 199596 1,722.60 
			 199697 1,608.20 
			 199798 1,298.80 
			 199899 1,217.00 
			 19992000 1,300.00 
			 200001 1,374.20 
			 200102 1,387.40 
			 200203 1,712.90 
			 200304 (Provisional outturn) 2,059.95 
			 200405 (Budget) 1,660.61 
			 200506 (Budget) 1,680.74 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures for 200102 to 200304 include expenditure on the Starter Home Initiative and the Safer Communities Supported Housing. Budgets for 200607 are subject to the outcome of the 2004 Spending Review. The Housing Corporation Final Accounts for 200304 are expected to be published in June.

Land Searches

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of local authorities are able to undertake land searches electronically; and when this is expected to be extended to all authorities.

Phil Hope: For land searches to be carried out electronically, local authorities must first have set up   electronic Local Land and Property Gazetteers (LLPGs). All authorities in England have been encouraged to set these up as part of their individual programmes to electronically enable 100 per cent. of their priority services by 2005. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Local e-Government programme is helping local authorities to achieve this target, in particular by allocating a flat rate grant of 200,000 per annum in 2002 and 2003 to each authority submitting asatisfactory Implementing e-Government (IEG) statement. The IEGs submitted in 2003 indicated that on average every authority would have electronically enabled 66 per cent. of their priority services by March 2004; most authorities indicated that they would have electronic LLPGs by that date.
	Local authorities have also been encouraged to have automated links with the National Land Information Service (NLIS), which is an electronic search engine intended to be a one-stop shop for information about land and property in England and Wales. It was developed in the 1990s by a group of public sector bodies, but was transferred in 2000 to the Local Government Information House (LGIH), a private, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), to take forward. The IDeA has told us that by January 2004, two-thirds of authorities in England and Wales had enabled electronic responses to searches via NLIS. It is important to note, however, that authorities do not have to be linked to NLIS to offer searchers an electronic search option.

Local Government Finance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total amount of section 106 payments for the last year in which figures were available was; what his estimate is of the percentage of section 106 payments likely to be transferred to the new tariff system when it is introduced; what his estimate is of the compliance cost of the new tariff system; and when he expects to publish all of the regulations relating to the tariff system.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not currently collect statistics centrally for total amounts secured through section 106 payments, and could therefore provide this information only at disproportionate cost. It is not possible to say what percentage of planning obligations will be covered by the proposed optional planning charge, as it will be for individual applicants to choose whether or not they want to pursue this option. While we accept that setting up a charge system could lead to an increased burden on local planning authorities in the short term, this should be more than, offset by the longer term pay-off in being able to process individual planning obligations much more quickly and efficiently.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister aims to consult on its draft revised policy and draft regulations later this year.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister travels by train regularly on official business. He last travelled by train on official business from London to York on Thursday 22 April 2004.
	All travel by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

New Deal for Communities

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the value of the contract given to the National Evaluation Team for the New Deal for Communities was; and if he will make a statement on its work.

Yvette Cooper: The value of the contract between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and a consortium led by Sheffield Hallam University for the interim phase of the national evaluation of the New Deal for Communities programme is 16.4 million. The contract covers work on the national evaluation to the end of September 2005.
	The national NDC evaluation is supporting the work of the 39 individual NDC Partnerships, the nine respective Government Offices and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit by providing evidence about how well the NDCs are delivering against their outcome targets.
	For each of the 39 NDCs, the evaluation is providing an initial baseline household survey, a follow-up survey two years later and annual detailed reports on a wide range of process issues, such as community engagement and mainstreaming. In addition, the evaluation is providing NDC-area specific analysis of administrative data from DWP, DH, DfES and the Home Office, among others The annual NDC reports inform the Government Office reviews of the Partnerships and are collated into an annual NDC programme-wide report. The 200203 NDC evaluation report was published in October last year.
	The report of the interim evaluation, due in mid-2005, will provide detailed evidence of how much progress each of the 39 NDCs has made in closing the gap between conditions in the partnership neighbourhood and the wider district and identify the critical success factors and barriers to performance.

Non-domestic Hereditaments

Brian Cotter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many non-domestic hereditaments with a rateable value of (a) less than 8,000, (b) between 8,001 and 25,000 and (c) over 25,001 there were in each billing authority in the last year for which figures are available.

Nick Raynsford: The information requested has been made available in the Library of the House.

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average amount of time taken by his Department to give permission for planning to go ahead was in (a) 2003 and (b) 1997.

Keith Hill: The average time taken to grant planning permission was 24 weeks in 2003 and 25 weeks in 1997.

Public Lavatories

John Gummer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the valuation of public lavatories is affected by (a) usage and (b) takings.

Nick Raynsford: The valuation for rating of public conveniences is normally reached taking account of the cost of construction and making allowance for obsolescence, expense of upkeep and location.
	(a) The number of persons using a public lavatory will depend on its location. A town centre convenience is likely to have greater usage than one in a remote location. In some coastal resorts, public lavatories may be used relatively intensively during the summer but closed altogether in the winter. The valuation of a public convenience is unaffected by usage. It is valued by reference to the cost which the occupier would otherwise incur if it had to construct an alternative facility. The cost of providing a facility which is intensively used is no greater than that of providing a facility which is less used, or used only seasonally. Exceptionally, instances have arisen where conveniences have been permanently closed at or before the relevant valuation date, and are thus not used at all; in such cases the Valuation Office Agency's Rating Manual recommends that no value is assessed.
	The VOA recognises that in some instances local authorities may be operating public conveniences where, in present circumstances, the cost of provision would not be justified. In such cases, current capital cost may be a doubtful indication of value. The VOA has addressed this by applying an age-related scale of obsolescence allowance, which is more generous than applied to other classes of property valued by reference to cost.
	(b) Since public conveniences are not operated for commercial profit, takings are irrelevant to valuation, and rateable value is unaffected by the absence, or presence/amount of revenue.

Regional Assemblies

David Curry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the (a) dates and (b) venues of all meetings open to members of the public or by special invitation held in the (i) North East, (ii) North West and (iii) Yorkshire and the Humber organised by the relevant Government regional offices to discuss the Government's proposals to establish regional assemblies at which a Government Minister spoke; what the cost was of holding each meeting; how many (A) members of the public and (B)   invitees attended; what the schedule is for future meetings; and what the budget is for each meeting in each of the relevant regions.

Nick Raynsford: The dates, venues, audience size and cost of the Hearings in the regions attended by Ministers so far are tabled:
	
		
			 Date Venue Region Public Invitees Cost () 
		
		
			 4 March 2004 Ewood Park, Blackburn North West 210 40 5,400 
			 4 March 2004 Berwick Community High School, Berwick North East 55 65 6,600 
			 18 March 2004 Pennine Theatre, Sheffield Hallam University Yorkshire and the Humber 68 67 10,300 
			 25 March 2004 University of Newcastle North East 132 88 9,700 
			 1 April 2004 Windsor Suite, Quality Royal Hotel, Hull Yorkshire and the Humber 180 170 6,900 
			 5 April 2004 Liverpool Marriott City Centre Hotel North West 126 42 12,400 
			 15 April 2004 Stonecross Manor Hotel, Kendal North West 179 31 5,100 
		
	
	Ministers have attended public meetings in Middlesbrough and Halifax on 22 April at estimated costs of 11,400 and 7,700 respectively.
	Future meetings are being scheduled, but details of these meetings have yet to be finalised.
	In addition, the dates, venues, audience size and cost of previous meetings with an invited audience attended by Ministers, as indicated in the written statement on 3 November 2003 are tabled as follows:
	
		
			 Date Venue Region Public Invitees Cost () 
		
		
			 3 November 2003 Durham Castle North East  100  
			 3 November 2003 St. William's College, York Yorkshire and the Humber  57 Total of 25,000 
			 4 November 2003 The Village Hotel, Warrington North West  80  
			 1 December 2003 The Door, Hanover St, Liverpool North West  15  
			 4 December 2003 Town Hall, Barnsley Yorkshire and the Humber  31  
			 22 January 2004 Midland Hotel, Manchester North West  400 3,200 
			 23 January 2004 West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds Yorkshire and the Humber  240 6,000 
			 23 January 2004 Vermont Hotel, Newcastle North East  120 6,200 
			 29 January 2004 Speke, Parklands Youth Centre, North West  2530 44 
			  King George V College, Sefton North West  20  
			 25 February 2004 North Manchester Chambers of Commerce, Bolton North West  30

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total spending relating to the proposed elected regional assemblies by regional chambers has been in the (a) North West, (b) North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber; and, for each of these regions, what the total anticipated spending is for the period up to the regional referendums.

Nick Raynsford: The Regional Chambers have not spent, and will not spend, any Government grant money campaigning for, publicising or promoting the case for an elected regional assembly. They are prohibited from doing so under the terms of their funding agreements, by which they receive Government grant.

Social Housing

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) council houses and (b) registered social landlord houses he anticipates will be built in each of the next three years.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set out in the Sustainable Communities action plan proposals to tackle the issues including the supply of affordable housing.
	5 billion is being invested in housing over the next two years (200406) and the role of the regions is being strengthened to ensure this investment is targeted more effectively on local and regional investment priorities.
	Registered Social Landlords are the main providers of affordable housing and 3.3 billion funding was recently agreed for the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme for 200405 and 200506 to provide homes for both rent and low cost home ownership. This funding will provide around 67,000 new affordable homes in England. The number of homes to be provided in 200607 will be the subject of the outcome of the Spending Review 2004.
	The number of council houses built has fallen with only a small number of dwellings being provided in recent years. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not have estimates of the number of homes that will be provided by councils over the next three years. It is estimated from local authority housing investment returns that some 260 were planned to be built in 200304.

Thames Gateway

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from English Heritage on development in the Thames Gateway; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Officials at the Office of the Deputy Prime   Minister have met with representatives from English Heritage to discuss the Historic Landscape Characterisation assessment of the Thames Gateway that English Heritage has commissioned. The aim of this work is to help planners, developers and regeneration agencies to understand the rich historic environment that exists in the Thames Gateway, to identify the capacity that specific places have to accommodate change, and to ensure that the historic environment can be integrated into the design of new development.
	Our heritage is an essential part of creating sustainable communities that are attractive places to live and work, with a positive sense of place. Officials will continue to work closely with English Heritage on historic environment issues in the Thames Gateway.

SCOTLAND

Fisheries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last met representatives of the Scottish fishing industry.

Anne McGuire: I regularly meet representatives of a wide range of organisations in Scotland, and I keep in close touch with developments affecting the Scottish fishing industry.

Fisheries

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the benefits to Scottish fishermen of continued membership of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

Anne McGuire: The effects of the Common Fisheries Policy are regularly monitored by the Fisheries Departments.

Project Funding

Tony Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each region in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible, in each of the last 10 years, broken down by region.

Anne McGuire: Since its inception in 1999 the Scotland Office has been responsible for no such projects. Responsibility for solely state-funded major projects in Scotland was previously dispersed across the various Departments and agencies of the former Scottish Office and a number of Non-Departmental Public Bodies sponsored by the former Scottish Office, and subsequently transferred to the Scottish Executive. No central record of these conventionally procured projects has been kept. Information on signed private finance initiative projects is available from the HM Treasury website at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/public   private   partnerships/ppp   pfi   stats.cfm

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts Funding

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to make bodies which distribute arts (a) capital and (b) revenue funding more democratically accountable to the regional community in which they operate.

Estelle Morris: Arts Council England is the national development agency for the arts in England, distributing public money from the Exchequer and the National Lottery. The arts funding system in England has already reorganised along the lines of the Government's regional plans. On April 1 2002 the Arts Council and the 10 independent regional arts boards joined together to create a single organisation for the arts in England. Six to eight members of the 1520 membership of the Regional Arts Councils are local authority nominees and the Chairs of the nine Regional Arts Councils are members of the National Council and form the majority of its membership of 15. This restructuring has given the regions real empowerment in decision-making and the delivery of the arts.

Departmental Policies (Newcastle)

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newcastle, East and Wallsend constituency, the effects on Newcastle, East and Wallsend of her Department's policies and actions since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport seeks to improve the quality of life for everyone through improved access to the best in cultural and sporting activities. The Department also champions thetourism, creative and leisure industries. The Department's policies and actions have had a significant impact on the constituency of Newcastle, East and Wallsend since 1997. For example, Arts Council England funds a diverse range of arts organisations and projects in the constituency, such as Tyneside Disability Arts, Monster Productions and the Foolsyard Theatre. The constituency has received the following grants from Arts Council England since 1997 1 :
	
		
		
			 Financial year Number of grants Total amount 
		
		
			 199798 18 38,849 
			 199899 3 4,710 
			 19992000 17 63,124 
			 200001 21 71,029 
			 200102 13 31,282 
			 200203 11 50,267 
			 200304 2 110,000 
			 Total 85 369,261 
		
	
	Since 1997, English Heritage has offered the following   grants to the Newcastle East and Wallsend constituency 1 :
	
		
		
			 Date Grant Details 
		
		
			 31 March 2004 160,000 Contribution of 19,000 towards Stage 1 project development costs for St. Michael's church, Byker, with agreement to a further 141,000 towards repairs following successful completion of Stage (13). 
			 Total 160,000  
		
	
	The Newcastle, East and Wallsend constituency has received the following awards from the National Lottery (granted by the following distributing bodies: Arts Council England, Community Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Millennium Commission, New Opportunities Fund, Sport England and the Film Council) since 1997 2 :
	
		
		
			 Financial year Total amount 
		
		
			 199798 279,481 
			 199899 4,248,686 
			 19992000 6,348,190 
			 200001 3,448,016 
			 200102 1,553,619 
			 200203 1,781,574 
			 200304 1,655,338 
			 Total 19,314,904 
		
	
	Since 1997, the constituency of Newcastle, East and Wallsend has received the following amount of European Regional Development Funds 3 for cultural/sport/tourism projects:
	
		
			 Financial year Total amount 
		
		
			 199798  
			 199899 1,987,498 
			 19992000 42,100 
			 200001 1,070,000 
			 200102  
			 200203 550,000 
			 200304  
			 Total 3,649,598 
		
	
	The Department has allocated 27 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) credits to Newcastle City Council in order to procure a new city library and three refurbished community libraries. One of these community libraries, High Heaton Library, is based in the constituency of Newcastle, East and Wallsend. The community libraries will be made fully accessible and, as well as being upgraded in terms of layout, decoration and furniture, fittings and equipment, will also enjoy re-engineered display and information facilities.
	Sport England has granted exchequer awards of 103,000 to fund Sports Development Workers promoting Active Schools Infrastructure and Equity in Sport across the City of Newcastle since 1997. The constituency of Newcastle, East and Wallsend has benefited from this funding. However, it is not possible to determine how much of this funding has gone directly to the constituency.
	Since 1997, the constituency of Newcastle, East and Wallsend has benefited from various grants made by the North East Museums Libraries and Archives Council (NEMLAC) within its area. However, it is not possible to determine how much of this funding has gone directly to the constituency. Examples of this funding include:
	10,000 to Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North and South Tyneside libraries and Tyne and Wear Archives for a joint campaign to promote heritage, local and family history services and lifelong learning opportunities in a poster campaign on the Tyne and Wear Metro;
	Under the auspices of the British Library's Reaching the Regions initiative, British Library staff worked with teachers from the North East to produce Lindisfarne Gospels school packs and resource boxes for distribution throughout the schools and libraries of the North East. Three of these resource boxes are located in Wallsend Library. Reaching the Regions has invested 100,000 in the North East and NEMLAC is a key partner in this venture.
	Between 199697 and 200203, the British Tourism Authorityand from 200304, VisitBritainhave been responsible for marketing Britain overseas as an attractive tourist destination. Grant-in-aid is not allocated in respect of individual areas of Britain, but Britain is promoted as a whole in a way that benefits Newcastle, East and Wallsend as it does the rest of the country.
	The residents of Newcastle, East and Wallsend also have ready access to a wealth of cultural institutions in Newcastle and Gateshead, including the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, the Sage Gateshead (due to open in winter 2004) and the Discovery Museum.
	1  Excluding Lottery grants.
	2  The data has been derived from the Department's Awards Database and is based on information supplied by the distributing bodies.
	3  One of the EU Structural Funds administered by the Government Offices.

Museums, Libraries and Public Archives

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money the Government has allocated for libraries in Liverpool, Walton in each year since 1997.

Estelle Morris: Core funding for public libraries is paid to the 149 Library Authorities in England as part   of the Local Government Finance Settlement administered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It is not ring-fenced.
	The figures show the amounts allocated to Liverpool city council, or to library consortiums of which Liverpool city were partners, from the DCMS-Wolfson Foundation Reader Development Fund. These awards cannot be broken down to district level.
	199798: 99,887 to Liverpool city council for library refurbishment and additional facilities including adaptation for people with disabilities.
	199899: 98,008 for better links between Liverpool's libraries and, ultimately, schools.
	200001: 215,992 to the North West Libraries Book Promotion Partnership, which included all the local authorities in the NW, towards assisting socially excluded 16 to 25-year-olds with reading skills.
	200102: 247,435 to the North West Libraries Book Promotion Partnership towards encouraging socially excluded and other young people in reading activities.

Museums, Libraries and Public Archives

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much money the Government has given to (a) museums, (b) libraries and (c) public archives in each of the last 10 years.

Estelle Morris: The funding given by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to museums, libraries and archives is set out in the table.
	
		DCMS expenditure --  million
		
			 Year Museums Libraries Public archives 
		
		
			 199495 225.0 85.3 1 
			 199596 227.6 85.5 1 
			 199697 220.9 89.7 1 
			 199798 214.2 94.0 1.1 
			 199899 212.4 89.2 1 
			 19992000 236.5 88.7 1.1 
			 200001 235.5 91.7 1.5 
			 200102 251.8 95.8 1.4 
			 200203 274.0 92.1 1.5 
			 200304 294.5 97.1 (13)0.2 
		
	
	(13) Reflects transfer of Historic Manuscripts Commission to the National Archives.
	In addition, DCMS provides Grant in Aid to the museums, libraries and archives council, which was 13.3 million in 200304.

Museums, Libraries and Public Archives

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action her Department is taking to   support (a) museums, (b) libraries and (c) public archives; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: DCMS provides both core funding for a number of key institutions, including the national museums and galleries and the British Library, and strategic support for the three sectors via the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) and its regional delivery network.
	Museums
	We are increasing our support for the DCMS-sponsored museums and galleries. Starting from the 2002 baseline, we have delivered a real-terms increase in resource grant-in-aid funding, for the larger institutions, of 1.5 per cent. in 200405 and 2.5 per cent. in 200506, and 7 per cent. in each of these two years for the smaller ones. We have also provided additional funding to help our sponsored museums carry out programmes of modernisation and reform.
	We have allocated 60 million during the 200306 period to a major new programme to revitalise our great regional museums, Renaissance in the Regions. This investment is already helping the participating museums provide better services to many more users, in particular enhanced educational services for children and improved links with community groups. Part of the Renaissance programme is the Designation Challenge Fund, which supports the care and interpretation of collections of national or international importance held in non-national museums.
	The Department has also doubled its contribution to  the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, to provide a total fund of 4 million in this financial year, and extended the fund's coverage to museums in the regions with designated collections and museums participating in Renaissance in the Regions.
	We plan to publish a museums vision statement this summer, which will look at ways in which the Government can work more effectively in partnership with museums. We will consult the sector on how best to take this vision forward.
	Libraries
	In February 2003, DCMS published Framework for the Future the first-ever national strategy for public libraries. It identified three areas where libraries have great potential to go beyond their traditional roles: the promotion of reading and informal learning; access to digital skills and services including e-government; and measures to tackle social exclusion, build community identity and develop citizenship. Framework is intended to encourage public library services fit for the needs of 21st century users. This strategy is being delivered through MLA and its partners.
	Public Archives
	In 2002 DCMS commissioned MLA to set up an Archives Task Force which would carry out an in-depth analysis of the sector and propose a strategy for making archives better understood, better looked after and better used. The report of the Archives Task Force, Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future, was published by MLA in March 2004. The report makes a number of proposals, including a major new initiative to help more people access archives more easily, a greater role for archives in education, and a programme to modernise public sector archives and develop skills and expertise. DCMS will work with MLA and other partners to take forward the Task Force's proposals.
	DCMS is also active in taking steps to preserve and protect archives at risk and works to secure collections of archival importance through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme.

Sport Funding (Liverpool, Walton)

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public funding has been spent on sport in Liverpool, Walton in each year since 1997.

Richard Caborn: The amount of exchequer and lottery funding spent on sport in Liverpool, Walton in each year since 1997 is set out in this table:
	
		
		
			 Year Exchequer(14) Lottery 
		
		
			 199798 10,625  
			 199899 31,625 1,797,913 
			 19992000  2,527 
			 200001  276,990 
			 200102 10,000 4,125 
			 200203  486,499 
			 200304  28,826 
			 200405(15)  4,600 
		
	
	(14) Figures provided for exchequer funding are not broken down by constituency (e.g. grants given to Liverpool city council).
	(15) Figures for 200405 correct as of 21 April.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Higher Education (Specialist Courses)

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the provision of specialist courses in universities and colleges.

Alan Johnson: The provision of courses of higher education, specialist or otherwise, is a matter for individual institutions to decide.
	Higher education today is a much larger and more diverse business than in the past. Institutions now compete in a global marketplace where the needs and demands of customers and stakeholders are growing in both range and complexity.
	Institutions now have to be ever more flexible in their response to meeting these diverse needs and demands and this is reflected in the content and style of courses offered. A good example of this is the increasing number of specialist foundation degrees being developed with the help of employers and which are often delivered in FE colleges.

Higher Education (Specialist Courses)

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to ensure the maintenance of textile teaching and research at the University of Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: As independent organisations, higher education institutions themselves determine what programmes and courses they offer. Similarly, they have the academic freedom to choose in which subjects they wish to focus their research.

Learning and Skills Councils

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many local learning and skills councils there are in (a) the North West Region, (b) the North East Region and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber Region; and how many board members there are on each council.

Alan Johnson: Each local Learning and Skills Council must have a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 members, including the Chair and Executive Director, who understand the needs of their communities. The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Region/Local LSC Membership (at 20 April 2004) 
		
		
			 North West  
			 Cheshire and Warrington 14 
			 Cumbria 16 
			 Greater Manchester 13 
			 Greater Merseyside 16 
			 Lancashire 14 
			 North East  
			 County Durham 14 
			 Northumberland 14 
			 Tees Valley 12 
			 Tyne and Wear 14 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber  
			 Humberside 13 
			 North Yorkshire 16 
			 South Yorkshire 14 
			 West Yorkshire 14

School Buildings (Liverpool, Walton)

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much public funding has been invested in school buildings in Liverpool, Walton in each year from 1993 to 2003.

David Miliband: The majority of capital funding is now allocated to local authorities and schools by needs-related formulae. Authorities invest according to priorities agreed in their asset management plans. The following table shows total capital allocations to Liverpool local education authority (LEA) since 199697, the earliest year for which reliable information is readily available.
	
		Capital allocations to Liverpool LEA -- 000
		
			 Year Allocation 
		
		
			 199697 5,791 
			 199798 15,306 
			 199899 19,230 
			 199900 13,714 
			 200001 (16)111,566 
			 200102 21,997 
			 200203 15,365 
			 200304 22,706 
		
	
	(16) Includes 86,800 PFI funding
	Note:
	The above allocations include the voluntary aided sector.

Sixth-form Colleges

Tim Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many free-standing sixth form colleges have opened since 1997.

Alan Johnson: Two Sixth Form Colleges have been incorporated since 1997, Brooke House Sixth Form College in Hackney and Longley Park Sixth Form College in Sheffield. Brooke House Sixth Form College was incorporated in October 2001 and took its first students in September 2002. Longley Park Sixth Form College was incorporated in November 2002 and expects to take its first students in September 2004.

HEALTH

Smoking

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the safety benefits of cigarettes that go out faster than normal cigarettes when not puffed.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has not made an estimation of the safety benefits of cigarettes that go out faster than normal cigarettes when not puffed.
	United Kingdom legislation on cigarette production and presentation follows European Directive 2001/37/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products. The European Commission is due to submit a report on this Directive no later than 31 December 2004. The question of fire safe cigarettes is one issue under discussion in relation to this report, and we await its publication.
	Officials are aware of the development of regulations on the ignition propensity of cigarettes in New York and Canada.

MRSA

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2004, Official Report, columns 182223W, on MRSA, what the assurance scores on infection control are for NHS trusts in England.

Melanie Johnson: The infection control self-assessment scores are collected annually and will not be available until June 2004. National average scores for the past three years for national health service trusts and primary care trusts are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Score (percentage) 
		
		
			 2001 63.2 
			 2002 63.6 
			 2003 64.3

Obesity

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the potential for angiogenesis inhibitors to control obesity.

Melanie Johnson: Research into angiogenesis inhibitors to reduce the growth of fat in humans is at an early stage. Therefore it would be premature to make any decisions on their potential to control obesity.

Third-party Products

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding endorsement and distribution of third-party products by NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, has received recent representations regarding the distribution of packs containing products for expectant and new mothers. It is a decision for individual national health service trusts whether to allow the distribution of such packs.

CABINET OFFICE

Financial Ombudsman Service

Sue Doughty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether the Better Regulation Task Force accepts submissions from members of the public who have made use of the services of the Financial Ombudsman Service on whether its powers should be curbed;
	(2)  whether the Better Regulation Task Force is conducting investigations into the powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what concerns regarding the powers of the Financial Ombudsman Service have been brought to the attention of the Better Regulation Task Force; and how these concerns were raised with the Better Regulation Task Force.

Douglas Alexander: The Better Regulation Task Force is considering the Ombudsman Service's rulings as part of a wider study into regulatory creep. It has defined regulatory creep as regulation or compliance with regulation that goes beyond the original source of authority or intention. Further details of this study are   set out on the task force's website, http://www.brtf.gov.uk/taskforce/pressreleases/creepreg.htm. As with all its studies, the task force invites submissions from members of the public. During the course of each study the task force seeks the views of a wide range of stakeholders. It will publish its findings in the summer.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance is issued to Government Ministers regarding the use of public transport for travel in connection with their ministerial duties.

Douglas Alexander: Guidance for Ministers on official travel is set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Library.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Asbestos

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the   projections for asbestos-related illness and death over   the next two decades (a) in the UK and (b) in Wales.

Jane Kennedy: There are three diseases commonly associated with asbestos exposure; mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis.
	Statistical modelling has been used to produce an estimate of the future peak in the number of deaths due to mesothelioma in Great Britain. The annual total number of mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain is expected to peak at around 1,950 to 2,450 deaths some time between 2011 and 2015.
	It is estimated that there are one or two cases of lung cancers caused by exposure to asbestos for every case of mesothelioma, and this ratio is expected to decrease over time. Mortality from asbestosis is between 100 and 200 cases per year. However no estimates have been made of the likely deaths in future years due to asbestosis.
	No separate mesothelioma prediction has been carried out for Wales. In the period 19992001 there were 188 deaths from mesothelioma in Wales. Great Britain as a whole had 5,090 mesothelioma deaths in the same period. This represents a lower rate of mesothelioma in Wales (annual rate of 19 per million) than for the rest of Great Britain (28 per million).

Disability Living Allowance

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of disability living allowance have not been paid money due to them in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March and (d) April; what the total sum is of such payments owed to claimants of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: We are not aware of any backlog of cases where entitlement has been determined and payments to customers are outstanding.
	However the Department was aware of a technical problem with Direct Payments that affected some DLA customers on 6 and 7 April, which resulted in payments being delayed to the 8 April. This problem was related to the adjustments made to accommodate the need to advance payments over the Easter Bank Holiday. We are currently scanning the database to establish exactly the number of payments that were delayed. It is estimated that approximately 74,000 payments were affected.

Ethnic Minority Employment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many ethnic minorities are employed in Jobcentres in each region in the UK, broken down by grade.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the following table. The figures are based on the number of staff who have responded to ethnic surveys. Participation in such surveys is on a voluntary basis.
	
		Jobcentre Plus ethnic minority staff by grade(as at 26March 2004)
		
			 Region/Grade Staff 
		
		
			 East Midlands  
			 Administrative Assistant 52 
			 Administrative Officer 295 
			 Executive Officer 112 
			 Higher Executive Officer 10 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 Total 471 
			   
			 Eastern  
			 Administrative Assistant 31 
			 Administrative Officer 235 
			 Executive Officer 117 
			 Higher Executive Officer 9 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 Total 393 
			   
			 Head Office  
			 Administrative Assistant 14 
			 Administrative Officer 91 
			 Executive Officer 79 
			 Higher Executive Office 34 
			 SCS Pay Band 1 2002 (17) 
			 Senior Executive Officer 12 
			 Support Grade Band 1 (17) 
			 Support Grade Band 2 12 
			 Typist (17) 
			 Grade 7 5 
			 Total 251 
			   
			 London  
			 Administrative Assistant 348 
			 Senior Accountant Fully Qualified (17) 
			 Administrative Officer 2,369 
			 Executive Officer 1,308 
			 Higher Executive Office 97 
			 Senior Executive Officer 16 
			 Graphics Technical Officer (17) 
			 Total 4,140 
			 North East  
			 Administrative Assistant 5 
			 Administrative Officer 50 
			 Executive Officer 27 
			 Higher Executive Office (17) 
			 Total 86 
			   
			 North West  
			 Administrative Assistant 62 
			 Administrative Officer 336 
			 Executive Officer 108 
			 Higher Executive Office 9 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 Total 517 
			   
			 Scotland  
			 Administrative Assistant 11 
			 Administrative Officer 86 
			 Executive Officer 45 
			 Higher Executive Office (17) 
			 Personal secretary (17) 
			 Higher Psychologist (17) 
			 Total 148 
			   
			 Wales  
			 Administrative Assistant 7 
			 Administrative Officer 37 
			 Executive Officer 26 
			 Higher Executive Officer 9 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 Total 80 
			   
			 South East  
			 Administrative Assistant 48 
			 Administrative Officer 277 
			 Executive Officer 93 
			 Higher Executive Officer 60 
			 Senior Executive Officer 6 
			 Grade 7 (17) 
			 Total 485 
			   
			 South West  
			 Administrative Assistant 20 
			 Administrative Officer 83 
			 Executive Officer 33 
			 Higher Executive Officer (17) 
			 Total 150 
			   
			 West Midlands  
			 Administrative Assistant 105 
			 Administrative Officer 635 
			 Executive Officer 219 
			 Higher Executive Officer 7 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 UNIFGD6 (17) 
			 Total 969 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humberside  
			 Administrative Assistant 70 
			 Administrative Officer 321 
			 Executive Officer 99 
			 Higher Executive Officer 8 
			 Senior Executive Officer (17) 
			 Grade 7 (17) 
			 Total 500 
		
	
	(17) Denotes that the figure is less than 5.
	Source:
	Financial and Management Information System (FAMIS) Payroll and Rebus Payroll.

Pension Forecasts

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out his plans for combined pension forecasts; in what sequence different groups will be issued with forecasts and over what timescale; how many forecasts he expects to issue for each group; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The combined pension forecast service gives people a projection of retirement income that brings state pension together with their current private pension. The service is delivered through employers and pension providers.
	By the end of March, a total of 1.12 million Combined Pension Forecasts had been issued. To date over 700 employers and pension providers have expressed an interest in participating in the service. By the end of 200506 we aim to have reached 6.3 million people.
	We are not targeting particular groups with the combined pension forecast service. Rather we are encouraging all employers and pension providers to participate, currently on a voluntary basis. Additionally we are seeking reserve powers in the Pensions Bill so that, should the need arise, the provision of combined pension forecasts can be made a statutory requirement of pension schemes.

Rent Service

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what date has been set for The Rent Service to begin publishing information about local reference rents.

Chris Pond: No date has been set for The Rent Service to begin publishing details of Local Reference Rents. The Local Housing Allowance for Pathfinder Local Authorities is published on a monthly basis by the participating local authorities, and is available on their websites.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bali

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will revise his Department's advice against travel to Bali.

Mike O'Brien: Travel advice for Indonesia is kept   under close scrutiny and is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. It reflects the current level of risk.

Civil Servants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each civil   service grade within his (a) Department and (b) Department's executive agencies, the total number of staff employed, broken down by (i) gender, (ii) ethnic group and (iii) age group; and how many are registered disabled in each case.

Mike O'Brien: As at 1 October 2003 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff numbers were:
	
		
			 Grade Percentage female Percentage declared minority ethnic Percentage declared disabled Total 
		
		
			 SMS 4 0.00 0.00 0.00 12 
			 SMS 3 6.25 0.00 0.00 16 
			 SMS 2 8.08 0.73 1.47 136 
			 SMS 1 16.56 0.97 1.95 308 
			 SMS total 13.35 0.85 1.69 472 
			 D7 20.73 1.55 0.52 193 
			 D6 27.05 1.29 0.72 695 
			 C5 22.34 1.95 2.13 564 
			 C4 35.98 2.88 1.68 1,248 
			 B3 49.08 6.48 2.21 1,312 
			 A2 61.51 12.24 2.91 1,169 
			 A1 46.29 14.24 3.26 337 
			 Total 39.82 5.66 2.02 5,990 
		
	
	
		Count of PFNO
		
			Grade 
			 Age group A1 A2 B3 C4 C5 D6 D7 
		
		
			 1620 43 43 3 
			 2125 114 190 86 53   1 
			 2630 42 180 187 152 16 65 4 
			 3135 23 185 404 279 44 124 17 
			 3640 19 180 226 280 102 145 32 
			 4145 19 132 142 156 102 96 40 
			 4650 21 86 87 108 109 96 29 
			 5155 26 87 87 105 113 91 29 
			 5660 21 66 74 100 76 73 40 
			 6165 9 20 16 15 2 5 1 
			 Grand total 337 1,169 1,312 1,248 564 695 193 
		
	
	
		
			 Grade 
			 Age group SMS1 SMS2 SMS3 SMS4 Grand total 
		
		
			 1620 89 
			 2125 444 
			 2630 646 
			 3135 8 1   1,085 
			 3640 50 2   1,036 
			 4145 81 13   780 
			 4650 76 30 3 1 646 
			 5155 53 43 7 7 648 
			 5660 40 45 6 4 545 
			 6165  2   70 
			 Grand total 308 136 16 12 5,990 
		
	
	The FCO's only agency. Wilton Park reported the following figures at 1 April, 2004.
	
		
			 Grade Number 
		
		
			 Al 13 
			 A2 23 
			 B3 9 
			 C4 14 
			 C5 2 
			 D6 7 
			 D7 1 
			 SMS 2 
			 Total employed 71 
			   
			 Total male 23 
			 Total female 48 
			 Ethnic origin 
			 White 68 
			 Chinese 1 
			 Anglo Indian 1 
			 Anglo Caribbean 1 
			   
			 Disabled 0 
		
	
	
		Age by grade
		
			 Age Al A2 B3 C4 C5 D6 D7 SMS Total 
		
		
			 1620 44 
			 2125 2 4   6 
			 2630 1 1 1  3 
			 3135  4 1 4 9 
			 3640  1  5  2   8 
			 4145 1 2 1   1   5 
			 4650 1 3  1 1 2 1  9 
			 5155 1 6 3 3 1 1  2 17 
			 5660 1 2 2 1  1   7 
			 6165 2  1  3 
			 Total 13 23 9 14 2 7 1 2 71

EU-Africa Meeting

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the EU-Africa meeting on 1 April in Dublin; what issues were raised; what was agreed; and whether follow-up meetings are scheduled.

Jack Straw: The EU-Africa meeting on 1 April was part of the EU-Africa dialogue process. The discussion was focussed on peace and security, governance, regional integration, trade and key development issues. The two sides agreed a joint declaration on effective multilateralism and endorsed a joint report on the scale, nature and impact of Africa's debt burden. A communiqu was issued after the meeting, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. The Irish Presidency of the European Union will report on this meeting at the next General Affairs and External Relations Council on 26 April. The next meeting of the EU-Africa troika at ministerial level is expected to be organised by the Netherlands in the second half of this year.

Official Residences

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which members of the (a) Government and (b) civil service are permitted to use accommodation at ambassadors' and high commissioners' official residencies when visiting overseas on (i) official and (ii) private business; and what rules and protocols govern use by (A) (a) and (b) and (B) their families.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 22 April 2004
	For ministerial visits, a Head of Mission is normally expected to offer accommodation to a Minister and his or her Private Secretary. But local and individual circumstances will inevitably vary.
	Officials and visitors on private business may be accommodated at the residence at the discretion of the Head of Mission.

Turkey

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts regarding the potential accession to the EU by Turkey.

Denis MacShane: Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I frequently raise the issue of Turkey's potential accession with EU counterparts, in bilateral and EU fora. We repeatedly affirm the UK's strong support for Turkey's EU aspirations.
	The last major EU discussion of Turkish accession was at the Brussels European Council in December when the Council welcomed the considerable efforts of Turkey's political reforms and identified five areas where further sustained efforts are needed.

PRIME MINISTER

EU Constitution

Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister what representations he has (a) made to and (b) received from the European Commission on a referendum on the EU Constitution.

Tony Blair: As far as I am aware, none.

Speeches

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions since June 2001 when he last made a speech containing a significant section on (a) the environment and (b) terrorism-related matters.

Tony Blair: I regularly give speeches on a wide range of domestic and international issues that cover environmental and terrorism issues. Copies of my speeches are available on the No 10 website.

HOME DEPARTMENT

CCTV (Manchester)

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public funding has been spent on CCTV security cameras in Manchester, Gorton since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Since 1997, the Home Office has provided 3,515,685 to Manchester city council (which includes the Manchester, Gorton constituency) for CCTV schemes.
	Allocation of that funding locally, is a matter for Manchester city council and the Greater Manchester police. The information is not held centrally.

Departmental Policies (Newcastle)

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Newcastle East and Wallsend constituency, the effects on Newcastle East and Wallsend of his Department's policies and actions since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Most of the policies initiated by the Home Office since 1997 have had an impact on the Newcastle East and Wallsend constituency as on other parts of the country. However, it is not possible to gauge the impact of every policy and action the Home Office has initiated since 1997 on a constituency basis and statistical information relating to the constituency is not available for all Home Office policy areas. This answer sets out the information that is available for the constituency itself, or the relevant local authority and police areas for Newcastle East and Wallsend, it is not always possible to provide details back to 1997. The following are examples of initiatives or policies that have had an impact on the constituency, or an area of which the constituency is a part, together with the relevant statistics.
	Community Safety
	Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend forms part of the Northumbria police force area. On 31 March 1997 the Northumbria police force had 3,677 police officers this figure had risen to 4,048 by 31 December 2003, an increase of 371. In addition the Northumbria police force area has been allocated 330,398 to deliver 45 Community Support Officers in 200304.
	78,413 Basic Command Unit (BCU) funding was available to Newcastle East command in 200304 and used to fund police operations, publicity material and technical equipment targeting burglary to homes, vehicle crime and violent crime. Events were held on personal safety, asylum seekers and community crime awareness, and youth diversionary work was also undertaken.
	In 1993, the total number of recorded crimes in the Northumbria police force area was 192,773. In 200203, the total number of recorded crimes was 165,496. This represents a reduction of 27,277 (a percentage decrease of 14 per cent.).
	Recent change in levels of crime at BCU level are difficult to interpret because of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 which increased the consistency of crime recording across the country but also inflated the number of crimes recorded by police. Northumbria police estimated that the NCRS had an impact of approximately 25 per cent. on total recorded crime from April 2002.
	Home Office policy and actions since 1997 that contributed to these figures include setting up the Community Safety Partnerships, which are responsible for improving community safety, including quality of life issues such as anti-social behaviour, graffiti and the fear of crime.
	The Home Office provided 352,073 Building Safer Communities funding in 200304 rising to 360,875 in 200405 to Newcastle Community Safety Partnership and 204,876 to North Tyneside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP). Although the majority of this funding is used to benefit the area as a whole, some of the funding was targeted at specific areas, including the East End, for example Byker Street Wardens received 50,000 to create eight warden posts, one supervisor and a manager. Over 1,000 patrols have been completed and 3,629 incidents have been reported. Running costs of 5,000 have been provided for a CCTV van operating in Newcastle East. Funding of 10,000 has resulted in increased monitoring of the Nexus CCTV system which serves Byker, Heaton and Wallsend.
	In addition, 35,000 Small Retailers in Deprived Areas funding was used to improve the security and safety of 18 retail premises in the 10 per cent. most deprived wards in Newcastle during 200304, and similar funding of 20,000 was made available to North Tyneside.
	Community Development
	The Home Office has funded the Byker Advice and Information project to assist community development. This project covers the wards of Byker, Dene, Heaton, Monkchester, Sandyford, Walker and Walkergate and is entering its third (and final) year of funding. 25,009 was awarded in year 1, 26,486 in year 2 and 30,998 will be awarded this year. The project aims to assimilate a sustainable recruitment, training and development policy for local volunteers, which should increase their skill base, improve their career prospects and benefit the local community.
	Drugs Strategy
	Drugs information relates to the areas of the Newcastle and North Tyneside Drugs Action Teams (DAT) which between them serve the constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne and Wallsend. The DATs are responsible for local delivery of the National Drug Strategy to a combined population of over 450,000 and until 1999 they operated as a single partnership. They continue to work together closely, with many users North Tyneside being treated at services based in Newcastle, e.g. Plummer Court.
	Central Government funding for drug strategy delivery has increased steadily in recent years. In 200405 Newcastle's and North Tyneside's combined budgets for adult treatment will increase by over 7 per cent. to over 3.2 million and expenditure on young people will exceed 400,000. This investment and other Home Office funded programmes, e.g. Communities Against Drugs has resulted in:
	A 64 per cent. increase in drug users having structured treatment in Newcastle between 200203 and 200304 (1,180 users). In 19992000 562 Newcastle based clients presented to drug services.
	Approximately 460 drug users resident in North Tyneside were in treatment as at November 2003. In 19992000 175 North Tyneside based clients presented to drug services.
	Average waiting times in Newcastle and North Tyneside reduced sharply to two weeks between 200203 and 200304 (compared to 2.3 weeks across the region). In the same period the waiting time for specialist prescribing in North Tyneside reduced from over three months to two weeks. In 19992000, the average waiting time in Newcastle and North Tyneside was about five weeks including 20 weeks for community prescribing in Newcastle.
	A planned 15 per cent. increase to over 2,500 in available drug treatment places in Newcastle and North Tyneside in 200405.
	Almost 1,400 drug possession offences were committed in Newcastle and North Tyneside in 200203. Of these, almost 820 related to Class A drugs.
	A number of high profile police operations in 200304 including Operation Trinity which resulted in 34 arrests in East Newcastle and Wallsend and Operation Bobbin in which 1.4 million of drugs was seized in Walker.
	Both DATs will also receive considerable funding from April 2004 to March 2006 to deliver the Criminal Justice Interventions Programme (CJIP, a range of schemes aimed at moving drug misusing offenders into treatment and away from drug use and crime). Newcastle will receive additional CJIP funding, having been selected a site for intensive delivery. Implementation of this programme will place considerable pressure on criminal justice and treatment agencies in the City but the GO Drugs Team is encouraged by the DAT's planning for delivery. The forthcoming intensive CJIP activity in   Newcastle is expected to impact upon crime in neighbouring wards in North Tyneside.
	Asylum Seekers
	Since 3 April 2000 the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has been responsible for administering the support provided to asylum seekers. Asylum seekers requiring accommodation will normally be housed in dispersal areas across the UK; Newcastle upon Tyne is a dispersal area. The total number of asylum seekers being supported by NASS in Newcastle East and Wallsend as at the end of December 2003 was 595, of these 585 were supported in NASS accommodation and 10 were in receipt of subsistence only support from NASS. These figures include dependants and are rounded to the nearest five. Corresponding data for earlier years is not available. Similar data for Newcastle upon Tyne local authority for earlier periods has been published in successive editions of the quarterly and annual asylum statistics published at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html